Amity
by Deandra
Summary: Eothain considers his friends. Fluffy little ONESHOT. Part 150 of the Elfwine Chronicles.


_**Part 150 of the Elfwine Chronicles. The Elfwine Chronicles are a series of one-shots built around the family group of Eomer, Lothiriel and Elfwine. The total number will depend on how many ideas I get for new vignettes.**_

_**A/N: Wow – 150 of these buggers…well, actually it is only 149 since I never finished 106 (the Elboron story). Hopefully that will eventually see the light of day in some form. Hope you've enjoyed the journey so far. I know I have.**_

_**I keep SAYING this is all I've got, but then I write more, so why should you believe me? Anyway, this is all the finished Chronicles that I presently have ready to go! I do have several unfinished Chronicles (most of them longer ones) and I just finished the rough draft of yet another E/L story. That will probably be 3 chapters and should start posting some time next week.  
**_

**Amity**

**(57 IV)**

Relations with people can be unexpected. It never seems that they turn out quite as I initially anticipated. That has been a repeated occurrence during the course of my life.

Take, for example, my relationship with Eomer, son of Eomund. We met as boys, and promptly got into a disagreement about something – I do not even recall what – that ended in a fight. We both were bloody, bruised and dirty, but somewhere in the scuffle, we seemed to thrash out our differences and from that moment on became the best of friends. Even when we were separated by many leagues, training with different eoreds, our friendship did not wane. Once we were reunited, it was as strong as ever and it seems we have been side by side ever since. Only now he stands as my sovereign, and I serve as the captain of his personal guard. Who would have thought those two lads with flying fists would come to such closeness?

Because of my friendship with Eomer, I have developed other 'unusual' relations as well. After the Ring War, he met a young lady from Dol Amroth and promptly became smitten. Well, _he_ would not put it that way, but that is essentially what happened. Fortunately, she looked beyond his unpolished surface and saw the fine man within, and reciprocated his feelings. Lothiriel is…unique. Most of the nobles I have had occasion to know did not particularly appeal to me. I could tolerate their company if need be, but much preferred spending time with my Riders instead. Then Lothiriel joined us. The queen and I have formed a relationship built largely on squabbling. Oh, it is not so bad as it sounds, I assure you. It is just, I seem to be able to readily get a rise out of her, and my actions seem to goad or annoy her regularly. I rather take pleasure in getting her to fuss at me, and generally I know that it is not done in anger. Likely she does sometimes consider me rather frustrating, with my jesting nature and carefree attitude, but I know that down deep we are truly friends. She has proven her regard for me time and again, not the least of which was when she defended me against charges of treason. For my part, I would gladly die protecting her, and I will mourn her passing as deeply as any of her family members will.

Not long into their marriage, Eomer and Lothiriel were blessed with a son. Along with the rest of the Riddermark, I rejoiced in this heir to the throne. As Elfwine's safety was as much my responsibility as his parents' was, I spent quite a bit of time with the boy, particularly since I sometimes stepped in to do things with him when his father had to be absent. Unlike many men, I remained unmarried late into my life, so Elfwine became almost as my own son, and I do not think I could have loved him more. Indeed, when I did finally marry and my wife blessed me with two sons, I never stopped thinking of Elfwine as though he were my eldest. When he was abducted, right from under my nose, it was as if the villains had stolen a part of me. I was grateful that Eomer allowed me to be instrumental in the boy's recovery, and bringing his abductors to justice. Even so, it took quite awhile to forgive myself the lapse. Apparently, Elfwine reciprocates the love I feel for him, because it was he who spurred my acceptance of the mistake. A lad of only five years had cared enough about me to keep silent so those men would not harm me. I was both astonished and humbled when Eomer revealed that to me. Ever after that day, I have been more mindful that he was watching me and that my actions did matter to someone else. In all the years since, the young heir has never wavered in his friendship with me, any more than his father has. Elfwine was eventually joined by brothers and sisters, and I was fond of them all, but I did not share that same closeness with them. Perhaps it is vain of me, but I like to think I had some small part in forming Elfwine into the fine man he became, and the excellent king I know he will one day be in his father's stead.

Last but not least, I mention my relationship with the woman who became my bride. I confess, I have had little experience with women in my life, and I am not especially known for flirting with them, but Zimraphel changed things. I first met her on the journey back to Edoras from Minas Tirith. The queen had been looking for a new maidservant, and Queen Arwen had recommended Zimraphel. Her family was all gone and Arwen had thought she might be interested in a change. As it turned out, she agreed to the offer and returned with us. Never before had I met anyone who blushed so readily and constantly, or perhaps it was merely her reaction to me and my teasing. Though it was not normal behavior on my part, I could not stay away from her, and I delighted to see that becoming pink flush climb into her cheeks whenever I teased her. Lothiriel regularly chastized me for tormenting the girl and, had I thought Zimraphel truly minded, I would have ceased at once, but I felt certain she enjoyed our interaction as much as I did. And, truth was, I did not want to stay away from her; I was as a moth drawn to a flame. Considering how inept I am with women and how very shy she is, possibly we would never have gotten together had it not been for a hunting accident that injured me and resulted in her helping to nurse me back to health. During that time, our relationship took a turn – not at all an unpleasant one. Next thing I knew, I was proposing marriage and she was accepting. Suddenly, at the great age of thirty and eight years, I found myself a married man. I had not a clue of what I was doing, so I attempted to pattern my behavior after Eomer's, for I had long envied what he shared with his wife. Eventually, I found my own way, and if not precisely like Eomer's marriage, it is good all the same.

So, as you can see, my most cherished relationships in life have been far different than I thought they would be at the beginning of them. I wonder if it is so for everyone, or if they are just unpredictable for me. No matter. I am grateful for all of them, and hope to have more before my life comes to a close. I think I rather like that unexpected tenor of them. It has given life a spice it might not otherwise have had.

THE END

4/28/07

_**End note: **__** It is best that you read the Elfwine Chronicles in the order they were written.**__** The more of them that I wrote, the more likely I was to make reference to one of the previous ones and something that happened there. If you want to read them in order, go to the top of this page and click on my name (Deandra). That will take you to my profile page. Scroll down and you will find all the stories I have written. The Elfwine Chronicles are in order from bottom to top since ffn shows them in the order they were posted. A few were posted out of number order, but you can read them in posting order or number order since those few won't be affected in the story content.**_


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